Sparkman Sprinter Charles Lewis Signs With LSU

HARVEST- One of the highly rated track athlete recruits in the United States has decided on where they will extend their elite prowess on the track. Charles Lewis of Sparkman High signed a full athletic scholarship with the LSU Bengal Tigers at a special ceremony held at his school among family and schoolmates.

Ranked at the top sprinter in the country for the 300-meter and the No. 4 sprinter for the 200-meter indoor track season and among the nation’s best in the outdoor season of track, Lewis chose LSU over Alabama and Tennessee from his narrowed long-list of scholarship offers.

“LSU has always been in the picture as the school is regarded as having one of the top sprint programs in college athletics,” said the senior Senator. “When I first visited the school I saw it had a family environment, showed a lot of love towards me and my family and the coaches spoke to me in a straight forward style.”

At 6-foot-2, 175-pounds, Lewis has a perfect physique for a sprinter. His natural gift as a runner began as a small boy as he would follow his uncle, Rodrick Tolbert, as he trained for and participated in national sprint competitions. Tolbert was part of the relay team that won a World Championship in the 4×400 nearly 20 years ago. Lewis’ early training experiences with his uncle set the base of building his athletic talents to where he is today.

Lewis also credits his grandparents, Alexander and Wanda Welch, who he has lived with since eighth grade, for guiding him in his youth. “They helped me to become a young man from athletics, to school and to my spiritual beliefs and they are the reason where I am today,” said Lewis.

Lewis’ father lives in Texas while his mother makes her home in Atlanta.

Just prior to his signing, Lewis returned from New York City where he participated in the annual True Balance Indoor Nationals. His performances were not up to his personal standards, but he knows why. The national meet was his first competitive action in over two months. He was coming off a slight right hamstring injury and felt he was a little rusty in his first competitions of 2019. He did make the finals in the 200-meter event among the elite runners invited to attend.

His best outdoor times in both the 100-meter (10.54 seconds) and the 200-meter (21.02) are some of the best among high schools in the United States, but Lewis knows he can do much better as he’s had sort of a chronic hamstring injuries dating back to middle school.

Lewis wants to study sports medicine and someday treat sports injuries as a specialist sports physician. His scholarship signing puts him on his way towards that goal, as well as, becoming an Olympian on the U.S. Olympic team.

The senior Senator is the defending Class 7A state champ in both the 100 and 200-meter races. He won the gold medals at last year’s AHSAA State Track Meet. He’s on course to defend his title as the fastest male athlete in Alabama.

“My grandmother told me to believe in God and myself and that I could do anything I wanted,” said Lewis, who has a 3.1 grade point average. “Signing my scholarship I feel like my hard work was well worth it and I’m proud to have signed with such a great track program as LSU.”